JACKI WEAVER 'I HAVE NO PLANS TO RETIRE'

OUR GRAND DAME OF ACTING STILL HAS A LOT TO GIVE

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There was very little doubt that Jacki Weaver would grow up to be an actress - something she has now been doing for 60 years.

"From the moment I could talk, I was pretending to be other people," the beloved Australian star says. "I saw my first live show when I was about 3. It was Aladdin. I thought what an excellent thing it was to do."

With her childhood elocution teacher reportedly declaring "this child was born to act", Jacki made her professional stage debut in 1962 at the age of 15. She portrayed Cinderella in a pantomime called A Wish is a Dream at Sydney's Phillip Street Theatre, getting the role after she skipped school to audition. She was paid £30 a week.

Six decades later, having enjoyed an extraordinary  career on stage and screen, the diminutive actress, now 75, is more in-demand than ever.

Following early theatrical roles, Jacki added TV work to her résumé later in the 1960s and then moved into film in the 1970s. She won the first of four AFI/AACTA Awards for her debut performance in 1971’s Stork, before appearing in Alvin Purple, Picnic at Hanging Rock and Caddie.

STORK, 1971